‘All of a sudden, I hear this pop, pop, pop:’ People nearby recount moments before Colorado State Trooper shot

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Julie Anna Vonderharr first noticed a blue car pull off onto the side of the main road into her neighborhood and didn't think anything of it.

"I saw somebody pulling into our neighborhood really fast and didn't think anything about it, because people do that around here," Vonderharr recounted.

However, that normal roadside maneuver quickly became abnormal.

"All of a sudden I hear this pop pop pop, pop, pop, and I knew that was gunfire," Vonderharr said.

The Colorado State Patrol says those shots rang out in the middle of a routine traffic stop, hitting a state trooper multiple times. After the shots, Vonderharr says they saw the blue car speed off.

OTHER REPORTING: Suspect dead after two Colorado State Troopers injured during traffic stop

"I see the blue car come back by, like as fast as he possibly could, without skidding off the road, after hearing more gunshots in the back of the neighborhood. And at that point, I had told the kids to go downstairs and just lock the doors and windows," Vonderharr said.

However, they didn't stay sheltered for long. After learning the car had left the neighborhood, Vonderharr took her children to school.

"I knew they'd be safe there," she said.

Officials said in a press conference that the suspect later tried to ambush a Teller County Sheriff's Office deputy, which resulted in multiple shots being fired. Aid was rendered to the suspect on-scene, and the suspect was transported to the Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to officials at the press conference.

OTHER REPORTING: Neighbors react to suspect apprehended in their neighborhood

The gravity of the gunfire outside of their home on Tuesday morning did not fully set in until some hours later.

"Honestly, I was okay until after [the suspect was caught]. Then it hit me like, what could have happened, and I'm just so grateful that it didn't. And I'm so grateful for the officers, and the deputies, the police, the state troopers, everybody working together," Vonderharr said.

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